TAIPEI, Feb 1 – The Taiwanese team that will compete in the Beijing Winter Olympics will be in the opening and closing ceremonies after being told by the International Olympic Committee to participate.
China’s Taiwan fears that Beijing could “lower” Taiwan’s status by placing its athletes and Chinese-dominated Hong Kong delegates at the opening ceremony, a Taiwanese official familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.
Sub-tropical Taiwan, which has no winter sports culture and has never won a medal in the Winter Games, is sending four athletes to Beijing, the same number as the last Winter Games in 2018.
Taiwan said on Friday the group would not be attending opening or closing ceremonies, blaming delayed flights and strict anti-COVID-19 rules.
But the Taiwan Olympic Committee said by the end of Monday it had received “a few notices” from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) “requiring all delegates to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics to co-operate in sending staff to the opening and closing ceremonies”.
Based on its respect for the spirit of the Olympics and after negotiations with the Taiwanese Sports Authority, they will “fix” the program and “co-operate with the policy of sending staff to attend opening and closing events”.
It did not say how many in the 15-member team including coaches will be present.
The Beijing Games take place during tensions between China and Taiwan, which include the recurrence of Chinese troops near the island.
Taiwan competes in a number of sporting events, including the Olympics, such as the “Chinese Taipei” with Beijing emphasis, which sees democracy in Taiwan as part of “one China”.
On Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of News referred to the Taiwan delegation as coming from “China, Taipei”, instead of the official names “Chinese Taipei”.
That criticism of the Taiwanese Council’s policy maker of the Mainland Affairs Council, which claimed that China had deliberately misused the name.